Energy loss of highly charged ions in distant collisions with microcapillary surfaces

We present a theoretical study of the energy loss due to distant collisions with the surface of a highly charged ion passing through a microcapillary. Our results indicate that the correlation between the angular distribution and the energy loss of transmitted ions that do not experience charge exch ange with the walls can be used to probe the dielectric properties of the c apillary material at large distances. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All ri ghts reserved.